If You're Listening

Australia has always found energy underground - digging up coal, gas and uranium.  As climate change begins to change the way we get our power, our leaders regularly argue that we can keep on digging for power while also saving the planet.  But do nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage, and gas fired power have a role to play in the future?

For more than a decade, Australian politicians have discovered - the hard way - that climate policy is a dangerous game.  But as the Federal Parliament tore itself apart, the rest of the world moved on, finding new ways to understand the effects of climate change, and deal with it.  This is the story of how Australia fell behind the rest of the world, and why we might finally be ready to catch up....

In 1997, the debate over climate change in Australia was relatively civil.  The question was not whether climate change was happening, but what should be done about it? In the following decade, Australia’s mining industry polluted the debate with misinformation.  This is the story of how Australia's understanding of this vital issue went backwards.

Australia intends to keep exporting coal for as long as there are countries willing to buy it.  Miners have grand dreams of establishing new coal regions in Queensland to supply coal to the power stations and steel mills of India. But how much longer will India, and our other big coal customers, keep needing it? Guests: Neelima Jain, Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Centre for St...

Australia’s second-oldest city, Newcastle, was built around a single resource - coal. Since then, Australia has come to rely on coal for its prosperity. Our industries grew around the cheap energy it provided, and our global trade balance relies on its export. But now, that has to end. The question is - what will happen to Australia, and its coal communities - when it does? Guests: Professor John...

In 1987, scientists gathered in Melbourne for a landmark conference where they discussed, for the first time, the effects climate change might have on Australia. In the decade after that, two decisions were made by federal governments - one Liberal, and one Labor - which have shaped the climate debate in this country ever since.  Australia, If You’re Listening will look at why Australia’s found it...

The sixth season of If You’re Listening tells the story of Australia’s turbulent history with climate change, and what that means for the future. As we approach a federal election where climate and energy is a key battleground, this 8 episode series will examine how Australia wasted decades fighting change, instead of capitalising on it. Episode 1 launches on February 23.

For months commentators and politicians in Australia have been talking about one of the most frightening topics imaginable — a war between the United States and China over the island of Taiwan. It's the last frozen remnant of a hundred year old Civil War — two governments both claiming to be the legitimate rulers of China, separated by 100 miles of ocean. In this episode, we explain the bizarre st...

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the shutdown of travel from China, it shone a harsh light on the way Australia treats Chinese students who come here to study. Some feel isolated and discriminated against, others feel they are being treated as "cash cows" by a university sector desperate for their fees. Can we do better? And can we handle it when problems arise inside the bubble we have created a...

From humble beginnings in a tiny town whose name means "deep drainage ditch", electrical engineer Ren Zhengfei grew his company Huawei into a global technology giant, delivering competitive telecommunications equipment at low prices. But when Australia accused Huawei of being a security risk, a snowball began to roll which led to arrests, hostages being taken, and pure white hot fury in Beijing. T...

When China rolled out their trade sanctions regime against Australia to try and punish us for a litany of perceived insults, the trade of one commodity was conspicuously left untouched. China's desperate need to stimulate economic growth through construction has left them with an insatiable appetite for Australian iron ore. In this episode, we look at the incredible things they've built using our...

In 1989, five days after tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square in Beijing and brutally ended weeks of protests, the then prime minister Bob Hawke gave a horrifying description of what Australia thought happened. But where did the account come from? And what did it get wrong? Over the past three months China, If You're Listening investigated the source of this description and found it was a previously...

For decades Australia has taken the approach that when it comes to China; we can criticise their human rights record without risking our trading relationship. We told China we disapproved of their crackdown on students at Tiananmen Square in 1989, but continued to sell them iron ore. Xi Jinping has made it clear that the arrangement has now changed, as he simultaneously takes the lessons Beijing l...

At first glance, Chinese President Xi Jinping's life story seems simple. His father was a high-ranking Chinese government official, and opened doors for his son, who rose even higher. But his rise to become the most powerful Chinese leader since Chairman Mao Zedong seems far more unlikely when you find out what Mao's policies did to Xi's family during his childhood. In this episode we tell the sto...

A podcast about how the relationship between Australia and China came to the verge of collapse. Not long ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping was regularly having warm, friendly chats with Australia's Prime Ministers. Now, he won't even take our phone calls, trade is being blocked, and Australian politicians are talking about preparations for war. Episode 1 coming on the 1st of June.

When the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, killing hundreds of thousands in its wake, President Donald Trump's new way of running the country suddenly left America exposed.

For a decade Donald Trump railed against China. But once he was elected, Chinese President Xi Jinping quickly broke down Trump's defences. In today's episode, how President Xi turned Trump's disdain for China into a beautiful friendship. And created the perfect distraction from what China was really doing.

Just this month, the public finally got access to Donald Trump's tax returns. They revealed that he pays little to no tax, because he makes very little money. So what does a businessman do when he needs to revamp his image and make a little cash? Become the most famous person in the world. How Donald Trump tried to make money off the Presidency.

Donald Trump ran for election on some promises - building a wall between the US and Mexico, and stopping the immigration of Muslims. But instead of living up to his promise to stem the tide of immigrants, he resorted to truly shocking measures. How did Donald Trump push America's immigration system to the limits of what is legal, and what is morally justifiable?

When George Floyd was killed by police, protestors took to the streets in worldwide support of the Black Lives Matter protests. Donald Trump has a long history with speaking out on issues to do with race. So how far did his law and order response go toward soothing America's centuries old racial divide. When Donald Trump was elected, he promised to Make America Proud Again but did he just end up m...

As a businessman and presidential candidate, Donald Trump was extremely harsh on Saudi Arabia. So when Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside a Saudi consulate, why did Donald Trump come to the Kingdom's defence?

Within months of taking office, Donald Trump threatened North Korea with "fire and fury". Soon afterwards, he would tear up a nuclear deal with Iran and bring the US to the brink of war. And yet that war never came. This is the story of how Donald Trump resisted temptation and kept the peace.

The most powerful gun lobby group in the United States was brought to the edge of collapse. And right at that moment, Donald Trump vowed to do something about mass shootings. Could Donald Trump finally defeat the NRA, or when the moment came, did he flinch?

Hurricane Maria smashed through Puerto Rico in 2017, destroying everything in its wake. What did the worst American natural disaster in decades teach Donald Trump about how to be president? When Trump was inaugurated, he promised to Make America Safe Again... when the hurricane hit, did he live up to his promise? This is America, If You’re Listening. A podcast about how President Donald Trump has...

The 2020 US Presidential election is shaping up to be a historical moment. Voters are deciding if the America of the last four years is the one they want to live in in the future. President Trump's has presided over the most turbulent four years in living memory. He's dealt with crises, changed policies, and fought for his political survival. America, If You're Listening will look back at these as...